Research on the Mechanism of Exosome Treatment of Osteoarthritis via Multiple Signalling Pathways

Osteoarthritis (OA), a prevalent chronic degenerative joint disease, clinically manifested by redness, swelling, heat, pain, functional impairment, and joint deformity in and around the joints. Current OA therapies primarily focus on symptom alleviation, with limited efficacy in achieving disease modification. Exosomes, as a novel intercellular communication tool, can carry various bioactive substances, mediate multiple signalling pathways to inhibit osteoarthritis inflammation, promote repair, and improve cartilage homeostasis. Currently, research on the treatment of OA through multiple signalling pathways using exosomes is still in its exploratory stage and lacks systematic summarisation. This paper reviews recent literature to elucidate the role of various signaling pathways in the pathogenesis of OA and the mechanism of exosome-mediated signaling pathway therapy for OA, which may provide new directions for clinical diagnosis and treatment, basic research, and drug development.